I have a pair of the 16's and have used them with a pair of REL subs and by themselves they are a great stand mount 3 way speaker, definitly much better than other box stand mount speakers. I have them on custom solid oak sand/steel shot filled stands that match the black oak of the speakers. I am located near the Buffalo, NY area and will be putting them up for sale as I purchased the 8b's. I would be willing to meet someone to pick them up as there are no boxes for speakers or stands.
Eminent Technology LFT-8c Robert Greene review
A friend of mine forwarded this review to me a couple days ago. I hadn't seen it as it's just a week old at this point.
Why would I be interested? I have a pair of LFT-8b speakers that I picked up about 7 months ago. Wonderful speakers. I always wanted to try a set of panels and, as luck would have it, last summer I found a used pair of 8b's just a short drive from my home..I made the jump. As it turns out, this was one of the best moves I've made in my 50+ year audio hobby.
In the last few months, I was considering picking up the 8b to 8c upgrade components, but put it off as I had a number of other projects going on. Well..the projects got completed and I started a few more projects, though this time around the 8c upgrade is one of them. I ordered the 8c upgrade yesterday and I'm really looking forward to the adventure once it arrives.
One thing I've noticed when reading discussions of the LFT-8(no a, b, c) here on A-gon, is the discussion wanders over the now 36 year history of the LFT-8. Issues identified in this or that review from 10-20-25 years ago are brought up as if they reflect what the LFT-8 is today. LFT-8's had a great sound 30 years ago, with a few flaws, as any 30 year old speaker would, and it sounds better today. Nothing surprising there. Most companies cut ties with models as they age and come out with something new, whether they are really new or repackaged parts..that varies..
What's my point? I just find it interesting that Bruce Thigpen (Eminent Technology) came out with the LFT-8 in about 1990 and has been continually improving the model 8 year after year, decade in and decade out, staying in business with no advertising, though with a few shows here and there. There are very few current speakers(let alone businesses) alive today that have a 30+ year history under largely the same name. (Though the Vandy 2 series comes to mind) Pretty unique in this industry. It's also pretty unique that a decades old pair of LFT-8 speakers can be upgraded to the current model at a very modest cost. And the upgrade is easily done by any owner.
So..the latest review:
https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/eminent-technology-lft-8c-planar-loudspeaker/
Robert Greene goes into considerable depth in his review, which is specific to the 8c version, though he's done an 8b review in the past. I'm glad it came out as it pushed me over the edge in ordering the 8c upgrade. I'm not getting any younger..time to give the 8c a spin.
One last note, I've read in a number of older and current reviews that the LFT-8 speaker placement is..finicky. I haven't found that to be the case at all. In the last 7 months I've experimented extensively with placement and they respond well to various setups. My current setup is about 115 inches between the panels (on center) and maybe 30 degrees toe-ed in from facing directly forward. Each speaker is 45 inches off the front wall(on center) and 38 inches from the side walls. I have a great soundstage and and equally great imaging. My tweeter panels are on the inside.
(...and no..I have no affiliation with ET..just a customer owning a used pair of the 2017 model 8b)
- ...
- 124 posts total
@secretguy From the couple of videos from last year Florida show, the 16s looks really interesting. It uses the ribbon tweeter and mid-range panels with upgraded magnets in one panel and a seperate bass unit with six or seven dipole 6" woofers, The thing I don't like is that it will be completely active, no amps required. I like tubes. But that may be a bias I can get over. I just send Bruce a question on the status of the 16s' .
|
@audibleguy I'm having the urge to downsize from my Maggies (which I LOVE) to something that would give me at least some of the same qualities. Unfortunately there's nobody around me that carries them, |
@secretguy I believe ET has a 30 day money back guarantee of you order from the factory..which it sounds like you would. Outbound shipping is free, return shipping?? You'd have to ask Bruce.. |
- 124 posts total